Tie breaking rules for content item matching

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for selecting controlling keywords. In one aspect, a method includes determining that two or more targeting keywords for a same content item source are matched by one or more terms in a content item request, where a first targeting keyword matches the one or more terms with a more specific type of match than the second targeting keyword. If the bid associated with the second targeting keyword does not exceed the bid associated with the first targeting keyword, the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword are ranked based on selection scores. The targeting keywords are ranked based at least in part on the quality scores when the bid associated with the second targeting keyword does exceed the bid associated with the first targeting keyword.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method performed by data processing apparatus, the method comprising:
 receiving a content item request, the content item request specifying a phrase with which content items are to be selected; 
 determining that two or more targeting keywords for a same content distribution campaign are matched by the phrase, the determination including determining that a first kind of match between a first targeting keyword and the phrase is different than a second kind of match between a second targeting keyword and the phrase, the first kind of match being a more specific match than the second kind of match; 
 determining which of a first targeting keyword and a second targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid; 
 selecting, based on the determination of which targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid, a tiebreaker rule with which a controlling keyword will be selected from the two or more targeting keywords, wherein:
 a first tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the first targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the first tiebreaker rule specifying, at least in part, that the second targeting keyword is selected as the controlling keyword when the second targeting keyword has a higher quality score than the first keyword; and 
 a second tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the second targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the second tiebreaker rule specifying that selection of the controlling keyword is based, at least in part, on an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid for the second targeting keyword being lower than the bid for the second targeting keyword; 
 
 selecting, based on the selected tiebreaker rule, one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as a controlling keyword for the content item request; and 
 providing data associated with the controlling keyword. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first kind of match is an exact match. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second kind of match is a phrase match, broad match, or expanded match. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first kind of match is a phrase match. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the second kind of match is a broad match or expanded match. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first kind of match is a broad match and the second kind of match is expanded match. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the content distribution campaign is an advertisement management campaign, 
 the first targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign, and 
 the second targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the data comprises entering the data into an auction, and further comprising:
 receiving auction results specifying a winning bid; and 
 selecting a content item responsive to the content item request based on the winning bid. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the first tiebreaker rule, ranking the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword based at least in part on a selection score associated with each of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword, the selection score for each targeting keyword being based at least in part on the bid for the targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting a highest ranking keyword as the controlling keyword. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the second tiebreaker rule:
 generating an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid being lower that the bid associated with the second targeting keyword; 
 computing a selection score for the first targeting keyword based on the bid associated with the first targeting keyword and the quality score associated with first targeting keyword; and 
 computing a selection score for the second targeting keyword based on the augmented bid and the quality score associated with the second targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first keyword and the second keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting as the controlling keyword a keyword having a highest selection score. 
 
 
     
     
       11. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a content item request, the content item request specifying a phrase with which content items are to be selected; 
 determining that two or more targeting keywords for a same content distribution campaign are matched by the phrase, the determination including determining that a first kind of match between a first targeting keyword and the phrase is different than a second kind of match between a second targeting keyword and the phrase, the first kind of match being a more specific match than the second kind of match; 
 determining which of a first targeting keyword and a second targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid; 
 selecting, based on the determination of which targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid, a tiebreaker rule with which a controlling keyword will be selected from the two or more targeting keywords, wherein:
 a first tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the first targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the first tiebreaker rule specifying, at least in part, that the second targeting keyword is selected as the controlling keyword when the second targeting keyword has a higher quality score than the first keyword; and 
 a second tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the second targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the second tiebreaker rule specifying that selection of the controlling keyword is based, at least in part, on an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid for the second targeting keyword being lower than the bid for the second targeting keyword; 
 
 selecting, based on the selected tiebreaker rule, one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as a controlling keyword for the content item request; and 
 providing data associated with the controlling keyword. 
 
     
     
       12. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is an exact match. 
     
     
       13. The computer storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the second kind of match is a phrase match, broad match, or expanded match. 
     
     
       14. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is a phrase match. 
     
     
       15. The computer storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the second kind of match is a broad match or expanded match. 
     
     
       16. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is a broad match and the second kind of match is expanded match. 
     
     
       17. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the content distribution campaign is an advertisement management campaign, 
 the first targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign, and 
 the second targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign. 
 
     
     
       18. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein providing the data comprises entering the data into an auction, and wherein the instructions further cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
 receiving auction results specifying a winning bid; and 
 selecting a content item responsive to the content item request based on the winning bid. 
 
     
     
       19. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the first tiebreaker rule, ranking the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword based at least in part on a selection score associated with each of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword, the selection score for each targeting keyword being based at least in part on the bid for the targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting a highest ranking keyword as the controlling keyword. 
 
     
     
       20. The computer storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the second tiebreaker rule:
 generating an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid being lower that the bid associated with the second targeting keyword; 
 computing a selection score for the first targeting keyword based on the bid associated with the first targeting keyword and the quality score associated with first targeting keyword; and 
 computing a selection score for the second targeting keyword based on the augmented bid and the quality score associated with the second targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first keyword and the second keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting as the controlling keyword a keyword having a highest selection score. 
 
 
     
     
       21. A system comprising:
 a data store storing targeting keywords for a same content distribution campaign, the data store further storing, in association with each of the targeting keywords, one or more phrases that have been determined to be relevant to the targeting keyword; and 
 one or more computers operable to interact with the data store, the one or more computers being further operable to perform operations including:
 receiving a content item request, the content item request specifying a phrase with which content items are to be selected; 
 determining that two or more targeting keywords for a same content distribution campaign are matched by the phrase, the determination including determining that a first kind of match between a first targeting keyword and the phrase is different than a second kind of match between a second targeting keyword and the phrase, the first kind of match being a more specific match than the second kind of match; 
 determining which of a first targeting keyword and a second targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid; 
 selecting, based on the determination of which targeting keyword is associated with a higher bid, a tiebreaker rule with which a controlling keyword will be selected from the two or more targeting keywords, wherein:
 a first tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the first targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the first tiebreaker rule specifying, at least in part, that the second targeting keyword is selected as the controlling keyword when the second targeting keyword has a higher quality score than the first keyword; and 
 a second tiebreaker rule is selected in response to the determination that the second targeting keyword is associated with the higher bid, the second tiebreaker rule specifying that selection of the controlling keyword is based, at least in part, on an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid for the second targeting keyword being lower than the bid for the second targeting keyword; 
 
 selecting, based on the selected tiebreaker rule, one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as a controlling keyword for the content item request; and 
 providing data associated with the controlling keyword. 
 
 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is an exact match. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the second kind of match is a phrase match, broad match, or expanded match. 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is a phrase match. 
     
     
       25. The computer storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the second kind of match is a broad match or expanded match. 
     
     
       26. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first kind of match is a broad match and the second kind of match is expanded match. 
     
     
       27. The system of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the content distribution campaign is an advertisement management campaign, 
 the first targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign, and 
 the second targeting keyword controls distribution of one or more different advertisements in the advertisement management campaign. 
 
     
     
       28. The system of  claim 11 , wherein providing the data comprises entering the data into an auction, and wherein the one or more computers are further operable to perform operations comprising:
 receiving auction results specifying a winning bid; and 
 selecting a content item responsive to the content item request based on the winning bid. 
 
     
     
       29. The system of  claim 11 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the first tiebreaker rule, ranking the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword based at least in part on a selection score associated with each of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword, the selection score for each targeting keyword being based at least in part on the bid for the targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting a highest ranking keyword as the controlling keyword. 
 
     
     
       30. The system of  claim 11 , wherein selecting one of the first targeting keyword and the second targeting keyword comprises:
 in response to selecting the second tiebreaker rule:
 generating an augmented bid for the second targeting keyword, the augmented bid being lower that the bid associated with the second targeting keyword; 
 computing a selection score for the first targeting keyword based on the bid associated with the first targeting keyword and the quality score associated with first targeting keyword; and 
 computing a selection score for the second targeting keyword based on the augmented bid and the quality score associated with the second targeting keyword; wherein 
 selecting one of the first keyword and the second keyword as the controlling keyword comprises selecting as the controlling keyword a keyword having a highest selection score.